1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a loading test device used for an electric loading test of an alternating-power generator and another power source, for example, and a loading device used for load stabilization of a cogeneration system.
2. Related Art Statement
In facilities or buildings requiring electric power such as a factory, department store, computerized building, medical agency, commercial building, and waterworks department, stabilized electric power supply is required even in the case of electric power outage. Therefore, in such facilities, a private electric generator such as a three-phase alternating-current generator is disposed, and electric power can be supplied to the facilities by activating the private electric generator when electric power outage occurs, so that the electric power can be stably supplied even in the case of electric power outage.
Such a private electric generator is not for regular operation. The use of such a private electric generator is limited in the case of electric power outage; in addition, the private generator is required to certainly operate at that time. Therefore, it is required to regularly conduct a loading test on regular basis in order to normally activate the private electric generator in the case of emergency such as electric power outage.
As a method for a loading test of this private electric generator, it is preferable to conduct the loading test by supplying the electric power generated by actually activating the private electric generator to devices (electricity consumption devices such as an interior illumination and air conditioner), which are disposed in the facilities and actually uses the electric power. However, in many cases, the loading test requires a lot of times; moreover, since some dozen times of test for turning on and off a power source of electric generator and test for rapid increase in the capacity of electric power are conducted, it is difficult to conduct the loading test by using the electricity consumption devices disposed in the facilities.
Accordingly, in fact, the loading test of the private electric generator is carried out by using a resistor or loading test device for a loading test including loading resistance having a capacity compatible with the capacity of the electric generator.
A water rheostat has been widely used as the resistor included in this loading test device. In the water rheostat, electrodes are inserted in a tank comprising concrete or a wood flame, and the water rheostat adjusts the load by regulating the inserted amount or the interval between the electrodes. Generally, the water rheostat stabilizes the load while feeding with water, and also adjusts the water temperature by supplementing the vaporized water.
A loading test device 1 shown in FIG. 11 has been conventionally know as the loading test device using such a water rheostat (for example, reference to JP-A-H08-321408).
The loading test device 1 comprises a water rheostat 2 including three cylindrical-shaped electrodes 2a, 2a, 2a, a cooling water supply source for supplying cooling water, and a deionizer 4 including ion-exchange resin.
The water rheostat 2 comprises a retention tank 2b in which the water is collected, and the cylindrical-shaped electrode 2a is soaked in the water M collected in the retention tank 2b. This cylindrical-shaped electrode 2a it connected to an electric generator (not shown) of a test object. The upper portion of the retention tank 2b is provided with an outlet head 2c, so that the water M in the retention tank 2b is maintained in a constant height.
The cooling water supply source 3 is connected to the retention tank 2b through a supply pipe 5, so that the cooling water from the cooling water supply source 3 is supplied in the retention tank 2b. This supply pipe 5 comprises a first pipe portion 5a leading from the cooling water supply source 3 directly to the retention tank 2b, and a second pipe portion 5b leading to the retention tank 2b through the deionizer 4.
When the loading test is performed by the conventional loading test device 1 having the above construction, the loading test is carried out by adjusting fixed resistance of water in the retention tank 2b within a predetermined range. More particularly, the fixed resistance of water M in the retention tank 2b is adjusted within a predetermined range by mixing the water directly supplied from the cooling water supply source 3 and the water having high fixed resistance through the purified water device 4.
Recently, there has been an important issue of energy saving, so there has been an increasing demand for conducting electric power saving in every electric facility regardless of its scale or kind.
However, in the conventional loading test device 1, there have been some problems such as electric power loss and difficulty in an exhaust heat treatment in the water rheostat 2. In other words, since the electric power was consumed as the heat in the water rheostat 2, this electric power was not used, so that the electric power was wasted. Especially, the loading test has been performing in various power generating units throughout the year, so that there is a problem that the amount of electric power which is abandoned is enormous.
Furthermore, there was a large problem of a treatment for the generated heat (exhaust heat treatment) in the conventional load testing device 1. More particularly, in the load testing device 1, because the electric power was converted into the heat in the water rheostat 2, the temperature of water M was raised. Therefore, the increase in the water temperature of the water M was controlled by pouring a large amount of cooling water into the retention tank 2b. However, when the increase in the water temperature was prevented as described above, a large amount of cooling water was required; furthermore, there was a problem that the treatment of generated warm water was difficult.
The above problem was common for the loading stabilization device for stabilizing the loading of the cogeneration system, for example. That is, in the loading stabilization device of the cogeneration system, there was a problem that the electric power was consumed as the exhaust heat.